Tricked into Love
by Violet Saphira Darling
Summary: This is Tom Riddle Sr.'s story. Also known as Voldemort's father. This is his story, and how Merope Gaunt fed him love potion...and how he was tricked into love...


This is a retelling of Tom Riddle Sr. life (voldemort's dad). :) I've always been intrigued with the story of Voldemort's mother giving a love potion to Tom Riddle, and how he abandoned her later…so that's what this story's gonna be about! Enjoy! :)

*I do not own anything, it all belongs to J.K. Rowling

My name is Tom Riddle…senior. I was born in 1905, and grew up in the small town of Little Hangleton. My parents, Thomas and Mary Riddle, raised me in a wealthy and pampered life. We lived in a large and extravagant manor house that showed off our wealth. I've always been rich man, and damn proud of it too.

Throughout my youth, life was easy and delightful for me. I was very popular and admired due to my dark and handsome looks, along with my great wealth and charm. I made conversation with people easily. I knew how to flatter them and I had a way of charming people to get what I wanted. It was a useful talent, and everyone in town loved me. As a handsome and charismatic boy, I was used to girls at school always flirting shamelessly with me, teachers stealthily bending the rules for me, and my parents always spoiling and fawning over me, their dear little Tom.

Time passed, and I grew to be a strong and strikingly good-looking young man. My parents were very proud of me, and planned for me to marry some beautiful girl, and have beautiful grandbabies for them. I was a perfect son, and the whole town was satisfied with me. Eventually, my parents began to search for the perfect wife for me. They talked it over with a good friend of theirs, and suggested –no _decided_ that I should "take some interest" in their friend's attractive daughter, Cecilia.

I've known Cecilia since my school years, but I never talked to her much since she was two years younger than me. But she, like all the other girls in town, was attracted to my good looks and wealth. Cecilia was a pretty girl with curly brown hair, and sparkling green eyes. I asked her out on many dates to satisfy my parents.

After a couple of months with her, I fell in love for the first time. Cecilia was a fine young woman with a good family, which I approved of. But I was really attracted to her because she was _just_ like me! I remember spending hours with her, just talking about _life_. We gossiped and laughed at people in town, we told each other our true desires and feelings, and we felt the exact same way about how society should run. We both agreed that rich families with good reputations, like ours, should be separated from lower classes. Because…well…we were _superior_ to them. Poor people brought it on themselves. They were dirty, lazy, and just stupid people who didn't deserve to live where we lived.

And Cecilia was just great. She was beautiful, and I loved the way she laughed at my remarks, or how she made _me_ laugh. She amazed me because she understood me so well, and I loved her for that.

One day, I took her out horseback riding, through a route I usually went through. We were laughing, and having a marvelous time with each other. I was planning to take her away from the village, past the disgusting Gaunt house, and into a romantic setting in the woods. There, I was going to ask Cecilia to marry me.

I didn't like passing the little Gaunt house, because a couple years ago, I stopped there to take a drink when suddenly, out of no where, these terrible hives and rashes blurted on my skin everywhere! I was hideous, and my parents assumed I was allergic to something there.

I remember that day quite well. I was quite confident that Cecilia would accept me. But I was still eager for the day to go perfectly. We stopped by the Gaunt house to drink some water and rest our horses.

Brushing her hair out of her eyes, Cecilia frowned at the poor and dirty house in front of us. She nudged me and exclaimed, "My God, what an eyesore! Couldn't your father have that hovel cleared away Tom?"

I had turned to her, and was also disgusted by the filth of the cottage. We were right to stay away from these kinds of people.

"It's not ours," I reassured her, "Everything on the other side of the valley belongs to us, but that cottage belongs to an old tramp called Gaunt, and his children."

The girl had nodded, still appalled at the filthy house.

"The son's quite mad," I sneered, "you should hear some of the stories they tell in the village."

Cecilia turned to me, and clutched my arm. She was so lovely and delicate.

"Tom," she said, "I might be wrong –but has somebody nailed a snake to that door?"

My eyes fell on their horrifying "decoration", and I gasped, "Good lord, you're right! That'll be the son, I told you he's not right in the head. Don't look at it, Cecilia, darling."

I remember thinking that these people were mad! Absolutely mental! We hurried out of the disgusting area.

Later I proposed, and of course Cecilia accepted. My parents and I were satisfied. In fact, the whole town was happy at our engagement because we were the perfect couple.

From that point on, I didn't have a care in the world, because life was _good_. I was rich on my parent's money and I was going to marry the most beautiful girl in town! Things were looking perfect, until a few months later, I went horseback riding again. Cecilia and I were not married yet because the wedding was still being planned.

I remember it was a hot day, and sweat was trickling down my face. I stopped by the Gaunt cottage as usual to rest my horse, when I saw movement through the corner of my eye. Someone was coming out of the house. Instantly, I was tense, because I knew the Gaunt family could be dangerous. But I saw it was only a girl…and my God she was ugly.

The girl was ghastly, with her bony pale face, grimy dark hair, and a dirty ripped clothing. But I guessed that was how all poor people looked. She was standing next to their water well, holding an old bucket. And she looked at me with her dark eyes…with the strangest expression. The girl gazed at me…as if…as if I was her _lover_.

I had exhaled sharply, and stared back at her aggressively.

"What do you want?" I snapped at her, ready to take my horse and leave.

She continued stare wistfully at my face, her black eyes wondering up and down my body, as if she could not stare at me enough. I was getting very uncomfortable and tense. Who was this girl to rudely gawk at _me_?

"_Well?_" I snarled impatiently.

The girl jumped a little, as if startled that I was talking to her. She began walking towards me slowly, with the small bucket in her bony hands. I noticed they were trembling…with fear? I didn't know what.

"I…er….I was wondering if you would like a drink?" She asked slowly and timidly, as if she were afraid I would bite.

I had hesitated, because what if the water was poisoned or something? Crazy people. You never could tell what they would do to you. But I remember, the day was extremely hot, and my throat had ached for water.

Would it hurt just to drink a little water, I thought. So I wiped the sweat of my brow, and nodded to the girl. As soon as I gave my consent, a very curious smile had appeared on the girl's dirty face. I didn't know what it was. Was she glad that she could help? Or was it a triumphant smile? The girl seemed very strange to me, but of course she would. She was one of the _Gaunts_. But I think she was still a little scared, because she walked towards me uncertainly.

It was nice and cool, and I drank the whole bucket. The day was so hot that I even poured some water on my neck, to cool me off. I pushed my dark hair back, and handed the bucket to the girl.

"Good water," I muttered to her. I wasn't about to _thank_ the stupid girl, but the water was very good to my dry throat.

She stared at me, just holding the bucket…not even moving. She just stared and stared at me, like she was waiting for something to happen. I remember thinking that she was just plain crazy, so I turned my back on the girl, and began walking towards my horse.

Suddenly, it was just like the world stopped. I froze in my steps, as this…strange…yet _wonderful_ feeling swooped upon me. I didn't know what it was. It was so new, so unusual…I'd never felt it before. But it was like something had overwhelmed my body complete, and I suddenly _needed_ something…hungered for something. And I didn't know what.

Something inside of me told me to turn around and look at the girl again. My eyes fell on…_her,_ and I gasped in shock. It was like I had never seen the bucket girl before. She was…absolutely _radiant. _I didn't understand it. One minute, she was this hideous and dirty girl…the next moment, she was just so miraculous. I couldn't stop gazing at this…amazing…. wonderful…._ beautiful_ girl. My mouth was slightly open in awe, because the girl was just so gorgeous to my eyes. Her dark long hair tumbled down her shoulders. The sparkle in her black eyes seemed to capture me, and I couldn't stop gazing into her lovely eyes.

At that moment, I fell in love with the bucket girl. A fierce desire to hold her, and to love her nearly made me stagger on my feet. It overwhelmed me, my feelings for her. To me, my love for her felt more passionate, more amazing, and more true than my love for Cecilia. At the moment, there _was_ no Cecilia. There was only this stunning woman, and me in the world.

"What…what is your name?" I had breathed in awe. My eyes were wide, and I couldn't believe there was anyone as amazing as this girl.

She was smiling; a lovely _lovely _smile, and she said quietly, "I'm Merope. What is your name?"

I closed my eyes and grinned. The happiest feeling in the world was swirling inside of me, and all I could think of was _Merope, Merope, Merope_.

I took a deep breath, and stepped closer to her.

"Tom Riddle," I smiled handsomely at her, determined to make her like me, "Would you like to take a walk with me?"

Merope brushed her hair back, and nodded. She was beaming happily and I could see her body shaking with excitement.

We spent the whole day together, telling each other about ourselves. The whole time, I couldn't keep my eyes off of her. I knew I wanted to make her my bride…I had to have her! I would do _anything_ for the beautiful Merope, because I was madly in love with her. And by the end of the day, I decided to tell her my feelings.

"Dear Merope," I said softly, "I…I know we just met today…but…"

My hands were shaking slightly, because I was frightened that she wouldn't love me back. But she just gazed at me, and squeaked, "Yes? What is it, Tom?"

I took her small hands in mine, and kissed them gently. Then I smiled, and said, "I love you Merope. You are the most amazing woman I have ever met, and I know we've only known each other for a few hours…but I love you more than anyone in the world and I know I want to be with you forever. Will you have me as your husband?"

Merope's eyes filled with tears of happiness, and she nearly collapsed in my arms.

"Y-Yes, Tom!" she whispered, her eyes sparkling happily, "I'll marry you. But…but let's run away from this place! Let's go somewhere new, and start our lives somewhere else!"

I had bit my lip and hesitated. This place was all I'd ever known. But as I looked into Merope's dark eyes, I realized she was right. My parents would never approve of our love. The only way Merope and I could be together was if we ran away, just the two of us!

I laughed heartily, and stroked her hair. "Whatever you'd like, darling. We'll go anywhere you like, Merope."

So on that day, I went home, packed my clothes, and stole some of my parent's money. I left a short note, so they would understand why I left home:

_Mother and Father,_

_I'm leaving this town forever. I've fallen in love with Merope Gaunt, and we are running away to live together. Tell Cecilia that I can't marry her, because I love Merope. I'm sorry, Mother and Father, but I'm not coming back. Good-bye._

_ Tom Riddle_

That's it for chapter 1! :) Yes, I did take some lines from J.K. Rowling's book, but I think that's the only scene where I need to do it. There will probably be only 2 chapters, the next one where Tom ditches Merope when she gets pregnant with Voldemort…haha. Hope you enjoyed it, and tell me how I did! :] review! Thank you!


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